Government stake in I&M bank oversubscribed

The government’s stake in I&M Bank offered in the initial public offering (IPO) attracted a lot of investors, with more Rwandans and regional investors allotted 60 per cent.

According to a statement from the Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning, the 19.81 per cent stake in I&M Bank was oversubscribed and the allotment of shares to successful applicants has been completed.

The ministry said that the offer for Sale involved the issuance of 99,030,400 shares that were made available to potential investors. The sale program allotted 60 percent of the shares to Rwandan and East African investors and balance of 40 percent was allotted to foreign investors.

The Offer for Sale attracted applications drawn from all pools- International and Domestic. Total numbers of shares applied from across all pools were 206,893,000 over and above the 99,030,400 shares that were on offer, which represents an oversubscription rate of 209%.

The Minister of Finance, Claver Gatete said, “the over subscription of I&M Bank Rwanda Limited Offer for Sale shares is a testimony to the confidence investors have in the economy of Rwanda generally and the bank in particular. Oversubscription of the shares also gives credibility to the Government of Rwanda’s privatization program.”

“Having successfully carried out allotment of the shares to the successful applicants, we are confident that the listing of the shares on Rwanda Stock Exchange will facilitate the growth of our capital markets,” Gatete added.